FOR NORTHERN INDIA 73 



strands of cobweb, to form a purse or pocket. 

 When this has been done the frail bands of 

 cobweb, which hold the edges of the leaves in 

 situ, are strengthened by threads of cotton. 

 Lastly, the purse is cosily lined with silk-cotton 

 down or other soft material. Into the cradle, 

 thus formed, three or four white eggs, speckled 

 with red, find their way. 



In April cavities in trees and buildings 

 suitable for nesting purposes are at a premium 

 owing to the requirements of magpie-robins, 

 brahminy mynas, common mynas, yellow- 

 throated sparrows and rollers. Not uncom- 

 monly three or four pairs of birds nest in one 

 weather-beaten old tree. 



Bank-mynas, white-breasted kingfishers, bee- 

 eaters and a few belated sand-martins are 

 nesting in sandbanks in cavities which they 

 themselves have excavated. The nests of the 

 kingfisher and the sand-martin have already 

 been described, that of the bank-myna belongs 

 to May rather than to April. 



Bee-eaters working at the nest present a 

 pleasing spectacle. The sexes excavate turn 

 about. The site chosen may be a bunker on 

 the golf links, the butts on the rifle range, a low 

 mud boundary between two fields, or any kind 



